INTRODUCTION Knowing Fourth Graders
...... ......
INTRODUCTION
Knowing Fourth Graders
Fourth graders are so alive! For good or bad, fourth graders care deeply about almost everything that
happens at school, and ambivalence is rare. When I
taught this grade, I got used to students rushing down
the hallways from the bus in the morning. They would
unload their backpacks and coats in a frenzy (often
dropping them unintentionally on the floor in their hurry), push through
the door, and rush to the schedule posted on the wall. Even well into the
year, they'd comment on the day with exclamations of delight and pangs
of anguish. "Yes! We have PE today!" one student would exclaim while high-
1
fiving a buddy. "Hey, no fair! You said we were going to get to work on our
science projects today!" "We have an assembly later? What's it about? Do
we have to go? What if it's boring? I can never see at those things!"
Whether expressed as joy or anxiety, emotional intensity is a hallmark of fourth graders. Exclamation marks seem to pepper their language. School goes best for them when teachers respond to their intensity with a consistent, relaxed, and light-hearted approach. Teaching fourth graders is about creating a safe and comfortable classroom climate so that students feel secure enough to relax and take academic risks.
My goal in writing this book is to provide you with the essentials of setting up and running a fourth grade classroom so that your teaching--and your students' learning--can be joyful and rigorous. You'll find information on everything from arranging classroom furniture to planning and teaching lunch and recess routines, from building community to engaging parents in classroom life. Whether you're new to teaching or an experienced teacher switching to fourth grade, you'll find helpful information and advice about teaching this grade with success.
From What Every 4th Grade Teacher Needs to Know About Setting Up and Running a Classroom. ? 2010 Northeast Foundation for Children, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher. Visit .
Know Where Students Are Developmentally
As educators know from researchers and their own classroom observations, children's growth and development follow certain patterns. Just as children's height, weight, and physical abilities change, so do things such as their attention span, their sense of humor, their tendency to prefer large or small groups in social settings, and their sensitivities to change, risk taking, and friendship challenges. Knowing our students in these areas that so deeply impact their learning is fundamental to teaching them well. When we design classrooms, lessons, curricular projects, and routines according to our knowledge of students' strengths and needs, we create classrooms that allow students to be more successful, both socially and academically.
I remember my first year teaching fourth grade. I knew that we were supposed
to practice multiplication facts as part of our math work, so I set up a system
of weekly Friday math quizzes. I started to pressure the students to study math
facts as part of their nightly homework so they could do well on Friday. As the
year went on, I noticed that some students seemed to be getting more and
2
more anxious. Friday mornings were pure torture for the students who, try as
they might, just couldn't memorize the toughest facts. (You know the ones:
7x6, 7x8, 6x8, 4x8, etc.) Not only that, but an alarming number of students
started to exclaim, "Oh! I hate math! I'm so stupid!" That ultimately pushed
me to drop the weekly quizzes and stop the math fact pressure.
......
It wasn't until a couple of years later that I learned, from reading, talking
to colleagues, and attending teacher workshops, to think about where stu-
dents are developmentally when trying to understand their classroom behav-
ior. I picked up practical
When we design classrooms, lessons, strategies for adjusting my
teaching to match their
curricular projects, and routines according strengths and challenges.I
had many "aha" moments
to our knowledge of students' strengths as I gained some answers
to why my earlier approach
and needs, we create classrooms that to teaching math facts
...... allow students to be more successful, both socially and academically.
didn't work for many
From What Every 4th Grade Teacher Needs to Know About Setting Up and Running a Classroom. ? 2010 Northeast Foundation for Children, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher. Visit .
fourth graders. I learned that fourth graders tend to be selfcritical and intense. Though they can enjoy competition, the pressure of intense testing and too-high expectations can defeat them. No wonder there were so many tears!
With this realization, I
changed my approach. I had
the class play games that helped them practice math facts. All students also
kept personal multiplication charts in their math books so they could refer
to them as they worked on longer multiplication and division problems. I
gave an occasional fact quiz to "check and see how we're doing as a class,"
but the pressure was low. Not surprisingly, some students still mastered
their facts easily, while others struggled. However, the stress level in the class
was much lower. Best of all, I no longer heard students saying they were no
good at math simply because they couldn't remember a few math facts!
3
Common Characteristics of Fourth Graders
As that last story about math facts illustrates, one of the most commonly recognized characteristics of fourth graders is their intensity and inclination to be self-critical. Fourth graders tend to be sensitive, industrious, curious, and serious about fairness and justice. It's not uncommon to see a group of fourth graders on the playground spending more than half of their recess time arguing about who gets to pitch in kickball or whether someone was fouled in basketball.
The table on pages 5 and 6 details some of the common characteristics of fourth graders. As you use this table, keep these points in mind:
Human development is complex. Even scientists who study it do not yet fully agree on the means by which humans grow socially, emotionally, linguistically, or cognitively. Most theorists describe the process as involving a dynamic interaction between a person's biological disposition and many other environmental factors--from the historical era in which a
From What Every 4th Grade Teacher Needs to Know About Setting Up and Running a Classroom. ? 2010 Northeast Foundation for Children, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher. Visit .
person grows up, to the person's culture, family, and the institutions he or she encounters (like schools, churches, and the media). The table is not intended to ignore this complexity but instead to offer you a bridge between theory and the reality of classroom teaching.
Every child is unique. As a result of the complex and dynamic process of development, no two children--not even identical twins with the same genetic make-up--will develop in the same way or at the same rate. Also, within a given child, one area may develop at a much faster rate than another. For example, a particular fourth grader might display the reading and writing abilities typical of most fourth graders while being relaxed and easygoing when working through conflicts on the playground, a trait more common in fifth graders.
The table gives you a practical frame of reference. It lets you prepare
for fourth graders and have a resource if something puzzling comes up.
For example, you may notice that many students are melting down
during competitive games. This is pretty common in most of the fourth
4
grade year, so you may want to adjust the games to deemphasize com-
petition, knowing that students will probably be better able to handle
competition at the end of the year or in fifth grade.
The table is not about what's "normal." It's not intended to limit your thinking about students' potential, to help you make decisions about whether a student is "normal," or to lead you to ignore the needs of students who differ from other fourth graders. For example, although many fourth graders can be socially anxious, some thrive on getting up in front of others to perform skits or present research projects. In fact, most fourth graders can be successful with these sorts of tasks if we set them up for success through building a safe classroom community.
To learn more about child development, see the resources listed at the end of this book.
From What Every 4th Grade Teacher Needs to Know About Setting Up and Running a Classroom. ? 2010 Northeast Foundation for Children, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher. Visit .
Fourth Graders
Common Characteristics
School Implications
Social-Emotional
Individualistic and competitive Often worried or anxious Complain about fairness and hurt feelings Critical of self and others Often prefer same-gender friends Need lots of encouragement
assign partner work when possible; this minimizes the long debates and arguments that large-group projects may trigger
Watch carefully for over-competitiveness and criticism of peers
Use gentle joking and laughter to help keep things light and playful; avoid sarcasm, which wounds fourth graders deeply
Lead cooperative and team-building
5
games to build a sense of community
and safety
Keep assessment low-key, concrete, and focused on strengths, not deficits
Physical
Push themselves to physical limits Complain about aches, pains, and injuries May twist hair or bite nails to relieve
tension Better coordinated but still working
on physical control Can't sit still for long Still need recess and snack
Keep students moving to reduce wiggles and help with focus and attention
allow students to choose their best working position (sitting, standing, etc.) when possible
Keep direct-teaching lessons short
If possible, have two shorter recess breaks, rather than one long one
Include snack in the daily schedule
CONTINUED
From What Every 4th Grade Teacher Needs to Know About Setting Up and Running a Classroom. ? 2010 Northeast Foundation for Children, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher. Visit .
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